Mujeres on Film: Chicana Documentary Practice

Dr Catherine Leen, Senior Lecturer in Latin American Studies visited UCD on 2nd November as part of the UCD guest lecture series. Her talk, addressed to students on the course ‘Hispanic Cultures and Societies’ and staff from the School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures, was on the subject of Chicana Documentary Filmmakers. Dr Leen’s talk was insightful about the way Chicana women have had to fight for and continue to have to fight for visibility in the cultural sphere and freedom from traditionally imposed gender roles. She foregrounded the role of Chicana activists and filmmakers in bringing this struggle to public attention, by putting in on screen, and reminded the audience of the central role activism, whether represented in art, literature, theatre or film, has always played in Chicano and especially Chicana culture from the 1960s to the present day.